crisis

As online volunteers mobilize and international aid begins to flow in response to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal, we have been reviewing known deployments of our software in the country. As an organization, Ushahidi is not currently managing a deployment of our software and we have no plans to do this.

“The Mecca for Women in Tech” – That’s what Linda terms the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing to be. It probably is :). Linda, Chris, Brian and I had the honor of being able to attend this year’s celebration in Phoenix, Arizona.

The excitement around big data for social good is palpable, and its capacity for change is enormous. However, in order to realize this capacity the humanitarian community needs to embrace a fundamental shift in the relationship between data and crisis.

Deployment(s) of the Week
This week, we recognise three outstanding projects as deployments of the week.SardSOS : Emergenza Meteo Sardegna 2013 is a deployment set up to track effects of the deadly Cyclone Cleopatra and subsequent floods and help with emergency efforts.

The mobile phone has been at the core of Ushahidi’s strategy when building tools for citizen engagement. Its ubiquitous nature makes it the easiest tool to use and ensure that a vast majority of citizens can actively participate.

Deployment of the week
We applaud the efforts of Foodsync.org, utilizing the power of technology to reduce waste and connect surplus food to the hungry by mapping out food donations from participating vendors and delivery of these donations to organizations in the US.

Ushine is a tool created by the Data Science for Social Good Fellows. Nathan Leiby, Kayla Jacobs, Kwang-Sun Jim and Elena Evena joined Emmanuel Kala, our community and network to dive into data cleaning and data analysis to assist Ushahidians and others on their data missions. The created tool is possible to use with Ushahidi or, with some code mashing, other software.

[Guest Post by Maria Grabowski. Maria Grabowski holds a M.Sc. in social anthropology from the University of Copenhagen. Based on fieldwork in Cairo and Nairobi, her Master Thesis from 2013 explores Ushahidi through an anthropological take on social movements, digital activism and hope.